CHAPTER 5
SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR, HIV/AIDS AND THE
MISTREATMENT OF WOMEN
5.1
Introduction
In the SADHS, the women’s questionnaire included a series of questions about HIV/AIDS. Women were
first asked if they had ever heard of AIDS and if so, whether they thought they could protect themselves
against the disease through certain specific behaviours such as having a good diet or staying with one
faithful partner, etc. Other questions asked include the source of information on HIV/AIDS, whether a
person infected with the AIDS virus always shows symptoms or looks perfectly healthy, opinions about
reporting HIV/AIDS status and personal knowledge of someone who has been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS
or who has died of AIDS.
Gender issues are increasingly being recognised as critical influences on the HIV epidemic in Southern
Africa. Violence against women makes women vulnerable to HIV through three main mechanisms
(Maman et al., 2000a). Forced or coercive sexual intercourse with an infected partner can directly result
in HIV transmission. Violence may limit women’s ability to negotiate safer sexual practices. For
example, women fear that asking their partner to wear a condom will result in violence (Weiss and Rao
Gupta, 1998). Finally, violence is associated with high risk behavior among women (Wingood and
DiClemente, 1997). Experiences of forced sex in childhood and adolescence have been shown in many
studies internationally to impact negatively on sexual behaviour in later years (Jewkes et al., 2001). The
SADHS questionnaire asked about experiences of physical, sexual and economic violence against women
and girl children.
Furthermore, women were asked about their sexual relationships and behaviours. Information on age at
first sexual intercourse, sexual relations of unmarried women, recent sexual behaviour and postpartum
amenorrhoea and abstinence.
5.2
AIDS Knowledge and Awareness
According to the Table 5.1, knowledge of AIDS is almost universal. Ninety seven percent of women age
15-49 say they have heard of the disease. The data in Table 5.2 indicate that they are well-informed about
the way the HI virus is transmitted. More than 85 percent of women report that it is true that staying with
one faithful partner, using condoms, using clean needles for injections, and avoiding sharing razor blades
are valid means of protection against the virus.
Between 65 and 75 percent of women know that it is not true that having a good diet, not using public
toilets, avoiding touching people with AIDS, and not sharing food with a person who has AIDS are
effective means of protection from getting HIV/AIDS. Overall, urban women are more knowledgeable
about HIV/AIDS than non-urban women.
76
Table 5.1. Knowledge of AIDS
Percentage of respondents by knowledge of AIDS and source of knowledge, according to background characteristics,
South Africa 1998.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Knowledge of AIDS
Source of knowledge
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Knows AIDS
TV
Radio
News- Pamph- Health Friends RelaTotal
papers lets
worker
tives
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Age 5-year groups
15-19
95.1
72.7
81.3
62.1
60.3
71.8
72.4
52.7
2,249
20-24
97.6
78.3
88.7
72.1
70.1
83.6
79.8
67.6
2,075
25-29
98.0
78.4
88.6
70.8
69.6
80.9
79.5
66.9
1,857
30-34
97.6
78.6
88.4
69.4
68.9
78.0
75.7
66.4
1,654
35-39
96.5
76.5
86.6
64.5
64.3
74.6
72.9
65.4
1,636
40-44
96.1
75.4
84.2
61.8
62.0
73.1
73.9
63.1
1,294
45-49
95.2
74.0
81.7
57.5
55.6
69.5
69.2
58.6
970
Residence
Urban
Non-urban
97.9
94.7
88.6
57.6
87.5
83.4
77.1
49.6
76.2
48.1
78.9
72.9
80.0
68.1
68.9
53.8
7,095
4,640
Current marital status
Currently in union
Formerly in union
Had sex
Never had sex
96.6
96.2
97.7
94.5
75.9
74.1
78.4
74.1
86.3
86.3
87.7
79.4
63.8
61.1
71.0
64.8
63.3
62.2
69.3
61.8
74.2
77.8
83.3
65.5
72.7
75.4
81.2
67.8
62.4
62.5
68.9
48.9
5,077
993
4,121
1,544
Province
Western Cape
Eastern Cape
Northern Cape
Free State
KwaZulu-Natal
North West
Gauteng
Mpumalanga
Northern
98.2
95.6
93.4
92.9
96.0
99.3
98.9
97.6
93.9
89.6
59.6
74.9
85.8
72.4
84.8
89.7
82.8
50.7
80.7
81.3
72.0
88.1
86.6
87.2
88.9
92.6
84.9
75.6
50.2
62.9
60.7
66.9
72.2
80.4
67.0
47.2
75.5
46.9
57.3
66.4
60.6
67.7
80.3
70.7
51.1
69.4
72.9
60.8
79.1
74.2
82.7
83.0
86.0
70.5
70.6
68.3
65.5
74.3
72.0
81.2
83.7
85.9
69.1
49.1
58.1
55.7
65.0
61.6
69.7
75.8
78.8
44.2
1,193
1,566
253
763
2,364
909
2,552
819
1,316
Education
No education
Sub A - Std 3
Std 4 - Std 5
Std 6 - Std 9
Std 10
Higher
90.2
93.3
94.7
97.7
99.3
99.6
44.3
56.3
66.9
80.6
91.7
93.5
76.6
81.6
80.7
87.2
91.2
90.1
19.4
37.4
54.9
72.4
87.0
89.2
22.6
39.5
52.9
70.9
84.8
85.9
63.4
72.3
74.3
79.9
79.1
73.9
54.1
62.0
70.0
79.0
84.9
80.5
45.7
54.0
57.4
64.9
73.4
67.1
804
1,291
1,625
5,181
1,922
912
Population group
African
Afr. urban
Afr. non-urban
Coloured
White
Asian
95.9
97.1
94.6
98.6
99.9
100
72.1
86.1
56.1
89.1
93.6
95.8
87.8
91.1
84.0
78.4
78.1
81.1
62.8
75.1
48.8
76.5
75.9
89.9
62.0
74.6
47.6
75.4
74.8
81.5
81.4
87.7
74.2
72.5
43.9
51.9
77.0
84.5
68.4
71.6
61.0
79.4
65.2
75.0
54.0
55.4
49.5
63.4
9,147
4,873
4,274
1,201
916
406
Total
96.7
76.4
85.9
66.2
65.1
76.6
75.3
62.9
11,735
77
Table 5.2. Knowledge of ways
Percentage women by knowledge of ways to avoid AIDS and with misinformation, according to urban/non-urban
residence, South Africa 1998
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Type of place of residence
____________________________________________________
Urban
Non-urban
Total
Number
______________________________________________________
Avoid AIDS: having a good diet
No
71.1
56.7
65.5
7,434
Yes
17.3
23.5
19.7
2,235
Don’t Know
11.5
19.6
14.6
1,659
Missing
0.1
0.2
0.1
15
Avoid AIDS: staying faithful to partner
Not true
7.8
9.7
8.5
968
True
89.9
83.6
87.4
9,919
Don’t Know
2.2
6.5
3.9
437
Missing
0.2
0.2
0.2
19
Avoid AIDS: avoiding public toilets
Not true
71.4
55.4
65.2
7,395
True
21.1
29.0
24.1
2,737
Don’t Know
7.3
15.1
10.3
1,173
Missing
0.2
0.6
0.3
40
Avoid AIDS: by using condoms
Not true
5.5
8.5
6.6
751
True
91.4
81.2
87.4
9,916
Don’t Know
3.0
10,1
5.7
649
Missing
0.2
0.3
0.2
28
Avoid AIDS: avoid touching person
Not true
82.8
61.5
74.5
8,455
True
10.4
21.8
14.8
1,680
Don’t Know
6.5
16.2
10.2
1,162
Missing
0.3
0.6
0.4
48
Avoid AIDS: avoid sharing food
Not true
78.5
58.4
70.7
8,018
True
13.3
24.0
17.5
1,981
Don’t Know
7.9
17.0
11.4
1,294
Missing
0.3
0.6
0.4
50
Avoid AIDS: avoid being bitten by mosquitoes
Not true
47.8
38.7
44.3
5,021
True
35.9
40.0
37.5
4,250
Don’t Know
15.9
20.5
17.7
2,008
Missing
0.4
0.8
0.6
65
Avoid AIDS: injection with clean needle
Not true
4.1
6.7
5.1
577
True
92.1
83.9
88.9
10,086
Don’t Know
3.7
9.2
5.8
661
Missing
0.2
0.2
0.2
19
Avoid AIDS: avoid sharing razors
Not true
7.7
6.4
7.2
818
True
86.7
84.2
85.7
9,726
Don’t Know
5.2
9.1
6.7
762
Missing
0.4
0.3
0.3
38
Total
Number
100
6 949.2
100
4 394.5
78
100
11 343.7
11,344
11,344
5.3
Source of Knowledge About HIV/AIDS
The most common source of information on HIV/AIDS among all women in the survey, is the television.
According to Table 5.1, 86 percent of the women report that the television is their source of information
on HIV/AIDS. The next major sources of information are health workers (77 percent), radio (76 percent)
and friends (75 percent).
There is not much variation in the sources of information by background variables. But it is important
to note that for any given source of information on HIV/AIDS, access increases as the level of the
woman’s education increases. The exceptions are observed among women with the highest level of
education. Among these women, the observed pattern assumes a lower value for television, health
workers, friends and relatives.
African women have the highest level of access to HIV/AIDS messages on television (89 percent), by
health workers (81 percent) and friends (65 percent) than other women. Asian women have the highest
level of access via radio (96 percent), newspapers (90 percent), pamphlets (81 percent) and friends (79
percent). Urban African women have greater access to the sources of information on HIV/AIDS, than
the non-urban ones.
5.4
Perception of Risk of Getting HIV/AIDS
Women were asked whether a person infected with the AIDS virus always shows symptoms or looks
perfectly healthy. They were also asked whether they have a personal knowledge of someone who has
been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS or who has died of AIDS. The results in Table 5.3 show that about 55
percent of the women say yes, a healthy person can have AIDS. Less than a third (30 percent) said no,
a healthy person cannot have AIDS. On the other hand, only 17 percent report that they know someone
with or who has died of AIDS.
Urban women are more likely to report that a healthy person can have AIDS (61 percent) and know more
people with AIDS (20 percent) than non-urban women. The highest percentage of women who report that
a healthy person can have AIDS is found in the Western Cape province. More than three quarters of the
women in that province (78 percent) report this. This is followed by women in Mpumalanga (63 percent)
and Gauteng (61 percent) provinces. The more educated women are, the more likely they will report yes,
a healthy looking person can have AIDS. African women are the least to report yes compared to other
women. The highest percentage of those who report that they do not know or did not respond to the
question was found among women with no education (32 percent). About one in five women aged 45-49
years, those living in the Eastern Cape and Northern Province and women with low levels of education
(below standard six) are more likely to report that they do not know.
Table 5.3 shows that more than 20 percent of women who were formerly in a union, those living in
Gauteng province, those with standard 10 or more education and urban African women report that they
know someone with AIDS or who has died of the disease. The highest percentage of women who know
someone with AIDS or have died of the disease (30 percent) was found among women whose level of
education is higher than standard 10.
79
Table 5.3. Perceptions of risks of AIDS
Percent of women who know about AIDS by perception or risk of AIDS, according to background characteristics, South
Africa 1998.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Can a person with HIV look healthy?
Know someone with HIV/AIDS
_____________________________________________________________________
Yes
No
Missing/ Don’t
No
Yes
Missing Total
Know
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Age
15-19
54.2
29.7
16.1
86.4
12.8
0.8
2,139
20-24
57.0
31.2
11.8
81.2
18.2
0.6
2,026
25-29
55.8
29.0
15.2
81.7
17.6
0.7
1,820
30-34
56.8
28.8
14.4
81.0
18.6
0.4
1,614
35-39
54.6
30.1
15.3
81.2
17.7
1.1
1,578
40-44
51.4
30.5
18.0
80.0
19.7
0.3
1,243
45-49
49.3
29.3
21.5
82.3
16.9
0.8
923
Current marital status
Currently in union
55.3
28.6
16.1
82.2
17.2
0.6
4,904
Formerly in union
49.5
32.5
18.0
78.8
20.5
0.7
955
Had sex
54.0
32.2
13.8
80.7
18.5
0.8
4,025
Never had sex
58.0
25.7
16.3
88.4
10.9
0.7
1,459
Residence
Urban
61.2
25.4
13.4
79.5
19.9
0.6
6,949
Non-urban
44.4
36.8
18.8
86.4
12.8
0.8
4,394
Province
Western Cape
78.0
10.9
11.1
87.8
11.8
0.5
1,172
Eastern Cape
47.3
32.1
20.6
82.2
17.1
0.7
1,497
Northern Cape
58.3
19.4
22.3
88.3
11.5
0.2
236
Free State
50.9
34.0
15.0
83.8
16.0
0.2
708
KwaZulu-Natal
45.2
37.7
17.1
80.5
19.2
0.2
2,269
North West
53.4
30.0
16.6
85.6
11.9
2.4
902
Gauteng
61.0
24.3
14.6
74.9
24.4
0.7
2,523
Mpumalanga
63.0
28.9
8.1
79.8
19.4
0.8
800
Northern Province
43.1
42.0
14.9
91.6
7.5
0.8
1,236
Education
No education
38.1
29.5
32.4
89.8
9.0
1.2
725
Sub A - Std 3
39.4
36.5
24.1
87.1
12.6
0.4
1,205
Std 4 - Std 5
46.0
33.1
20.9
87.0
12.2
0.8
1,539
Std 6 - Std 9
55.1
30.7
14.2
82.4
16.8
0.8
5,060
Std 10
66.3
25.9
7.8
77.8
22.0
0.2
1,908
Higher
76.2
19.6
4.2
69.3
29.7
1.0
908
Population group
African
48.3
34.3
17.5
81.4
17.8
0.8
8,775
Afr. urban
53.0
31.0
16.0
77.2
22.0
0.8
4,734
Afr. non-urban
42.6
38.1
19.2
86.2
12.9
0.9
4,041
Coloured
73.7
15.7
10.6
85.8
13.8
0.4
1,183
White
89.3
7.4
3.3
80.1
19.9
0.0
915
Asian
60.6
25.8
13.7
94.0
5.8
0.2
406
Total
54.7
29.8
15.5
82.2
80
17.1
0.7
11,344
5.5
Opinions About Reporting HIV/AIDS Status
Women who have ever heard of AIDS were asked of their opinions about reporting HIV/AIDS status.
They were asked whether they believe that people with HIV/AIDS should be told of the status, whether
HIV/AIDS patients should tell their partners and whether diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS should be
reported to health authorities.
Over 80 percent of the women believe that HIV and AIDS status should be reported to the patients
themselves and their partners, while 70 percent believe that HIV and AIDS should be reported to the
health authorities (Table 5.4). Less than 10 percent of women report that they do not know whether HIV
and AIDS status should be reported to health authorities. Place of residence plays an important role in
whether a woman would say yes to reporting HIV and AIDS status or not. Table 5.4 shows that women
in the urban areas are more likely to say yes than their counterparts in the non-urban areas. Futhermore,
non-urban women (12 to 13 percent) are more likely than the urban women to say that they do not know
whether diagnosed cases of HIV and AIDS should be reported to health authorities or not.
Table 5.4 Beliefs about reporting AIDS
Percent distribution of women who have ever heard of AIDS by whether they believe certain statements about divulging
HIV/AIDS status to various people or not, according to urban/non-urban residence, South Africa 1998.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Residence
__________________________________________________________________
Urban
Non-urban
Total
Number
__________________________________________________________________
People with AIDS
be told status
No
9.1
18.3
12.7
1,439
Yes
87.1
74.5
82.2
9,327
Don’t Know
2.8
6.3
4.2
473
Missing
1.0
0.9
0.9
105
People with HIV
be told of their status
No
8.5
17.7
12.1
1,372
Yes
87.7
74.8
82.7
9,382
Don’t Know
2.8
6.5
4.2
482
Missing
1.0
0.9
0.9
107
HIV/AIDS patients
tell partners
No
7.2
11.5
8.9
1,008
Yes
89.1
80.4
85.7
9,722
Don’t Know
2.7
7.2
4.4
501
Missing
1.0
0.9
1.0
113
Diagnosed cases of
AIDS be reported to
health authorities
No
18.3
23.3
20.3
2,298
Yes
73.1
63.6
69.4
7,873
Don’t Know
7.6
12.1
9.4
1,062
Missing
1.0
0.9
1.0
111
Diagnosed cases of
HIV be reported to
health authorities
No
18.2
23.2
20.2
2,288
Yes
72.9
62.7
68.9
7,818
Don’t Know
7.9
13.2
9.9
1,129
Missing
1.0
0.9
1.0
110
Total
Number
5.6
100
6,949
100
4,395
100
11,344
11,344
11,344
Age at First Sexual Intercourse
Table 5.5 shows that eight percent of women in the reproductive age group who have had sexual
intercourse did so by the age of 15. Almost half all women who have had sexual intercourse had their
first experience by the age of 18 (46 percent). A majority had their first sexual intercourse by the age
81
of 20 (71 and 69 percent of women aged 20-49 and 25-49 respectively). The median age at first sexual
intercourse ranges from 18.1 for women aged 15-29 to 18.7 for those aged 45-49. For all women aged
20-49 the median age at first sexual intercourse is 18.2 years.
The data in Table 5.6 show the differences in age at first sexual intercourse by current age and selected
background characteristics. For all women aged 25-49, education and race show significant differences
in the median age at first sexual intercourse. Women with standard 10 or higher and Asian and white
women currently in the oldest reproductive age group have comparatively high age at first sexual
intercourse.
Table 5.5 Age at First Sexual Intercourse
Percentage of women ever having sexual intercourse by exact specified ages and median age at first sexual intercourse,
according to current age, South Africa 1998.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Percent who had
Percentage
first intercourse by exact age who
Number
Median
Current
____________________________________
never had
of
Age at first
age
15
18
20
22
25
intercourse
women
intercourse
________________________________________________________________________________________________
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
8.5
7.4
7.6
8.5
8.9
6.5
5.8
NA
52.8
48.6
47.3
43.2
38.9
41.6
NA
77.2
74.6
70.5
69.1
64.8
63.3
NA
NA
85.3
80.6
81.1
79.2
76.7
NA
NA
90.3
85.4
86.0
85.1
83.2
54.8
10.6
3.0
1.1
0.7
0.3
0.5
2,249
2,075
1,857
1,654
1,636
1,294
970
18.1
18.2
18.5
18.7
18.7
Women (20-49)
Women (25-49)
7.6
7.7
46.3
44.5
71.0
69.3
81.8
81.1
86.2
86.4
3.3
1.3
9,486
7,411
18.2
18.4
NA = Not applicable
- Omitted because less than 50 percent in the age group x to x + 4 had had intercourse by age x.
82
Table 5.6 Median Age at First Sexual Intercourse
Median age at first sexual intercourse among women age 20 (25)- 49 years, by current age and selected background
characteristics, South Africa 1998.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Age 5-year groups
Median
Median
________________________________________________________________________________________________
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
20-49
25-49
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Residence
Urban
18.2
18.2
18.5
18.6
18.9
19.2
18.5
18.6
Non-urban
17.3
17.8
17.7
18.1
18.4
17.9
17.8
17.9
Province
Western Cape
18.7
18.9
19.0
19.1
19.1
20.0
19.0
19.2
Eastern Cape
17.5
17.6
17.6
18.0
18.0
18.1
17.8
17.8
Northern Cape
18.4
18.6
18.7
18.9
19.6
18.9
18.8
18.9
Free State
18.1
17.8
18.1
18.1
18.2
18.6
18.1
18.1
KwaZulu-Natal
18.0
18.5
18.4
18.8
19.4
18.6
18.5
18.7
North West
18.2
18.3
18.7
18.7
18.9
18.6
18.5
18.6
Gauteng
18.0
18.1
18.1
18.6
18.9
18.9
18.3
18.4
Mpumalanga
16.8
16.9
17.0
17.4
17.3
17.1
17.0
17.1
Northern
17.3
17.6
17.6
17.9
18.1
19.0
17.7
17.9
Education
No education
17.3
16.9
17.7
17.9
18.4
18.4
18.0
18.0
Sub A - Std 3
16.7
17.3
17.2
17.0
18.2
17.6
17.3
17.4
Std 4 - Std 5
16.6
17.4
17.6
17.9
18.0
17.8
17.6
17.7
Std 6 - Std 9
17.5
17.7
18.2
18.5
18.8
19.1
18.1
18.3
Std 10
18.5
19.0
18.7
19.3
19.7
21.5
18.9
19.2
Higher
19.3
19.0
20.2
20.1
20.7
21.7
19.9
20.1
Population group
African
17.6
17.8
17.8
18.0
18.4
18.1
17.9
18.0
Afr. urban
17.8
17.9
18.1
18.0
18.5
18.2
18.0
18.1
Afr. non-urban 17.3
17.7
17.6
18.0
18.3
17.9
17.7
17.9
Coloured
19.0
18.8
18.8
19.2
18.9
19.4
19.0
19.0
White
*
19.4
19.6
20.2
20.1
20.8
*
20.0
Asian
*
20.8
20.5
21.0
20.4
21.1
*
20.7
Total
17.8
18.1
18.2
18.5
18.7
18.7
18.2
18.4
Note: An asterisk indicates that a figure is based on fewer than 25 unweighted cases and has been suppressed.
5.7
Recent Sexual Activity
Table 5.7 shows that just over half (51.7 percent) of all women were sexually active in the four weeks before
the survey. Seven percent were abstaining from sexual relations for post-partum reasons while 25.5 percent
were abstaining for other reasons. Teenagers, women who have never been married and those who were not
currently using any method of contraception were less likely to be sexually active than others. Highly
educated women were more likely to have had sexual intercourse in the four weeks before the survey than
other women. Asians and whites were more sexually active than Africans and coloureds.
83
Table 5.7 Recent sexual activity
Percent distribution of women by sexual activity in the 4 weeks prior to the survey and duration of abstinence by whether
or not postpartum, according to background characteristics, South Africa 1998.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not sexually active in last 4 weeks
______________________________
Background
Sexually Abstaining
Abstaining
Characteristic/
active
(Post-partum)
(not post-partum)
Never
Number
contraceptive
in last
________________ ________________
had
of
method
4 weeks 0-1 years 2+ years 0-1 years 2+ years Missing sex
Total
women
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Age
15-19
18.3
5.7
0.6
18.4
1.2
1.1
54.8
100
2,249
20-24
46.3
8.8
3.0
27.3
1.7
2.4
10.6
100
2,075
25-29
60.4
7.4
2.7
20.6
2.9
3.0
3.0
100
1,857
30-34
66.7
5.8
2.1
17.1
4.3
2.9
1.1
100
1,654
35-39
65.6
4.3
1.6
19.9
5.2
2.8
0.7
100
1,636
40-44
64.8
1.9
2.0
18.0
10.8
2.1
0.3
100
1,294
45-49
57.1
0.3
0.9
20.7
18.0
2.4
0.5
100
970
Marital duration (grouped)
Never married
31.0
6.7
2.3
25.5
5.0
2.2
27.3
100
5,665
0-4
77.3
7.5
1.6
11.0
0.8
1.8
0.0
100
1,165
5-9
74.1
5.5
1.5
13.6
2.5
2.9
0.0
100
1,174
10-14
73.0
3.2
1.0
16.2
3.5
3.1
0.0
100
1,109
15-19
68.6
4.5
2.0
17.1
5.5
2.1
0.1
100
1,094
20-24
65.8
2.4
1.4
19.4
8.8
2.2
0.0
100
861
25-29
62.6
0.6
1.5
20.2
12.6
2.4
0.0
100
563
30+
55.4
0.0
0.0
24.7
15.4
4.6
0.0
100
103
Residence
Urban
54.3
3.9
1.7
18.6
5.9
2.6
13.0
100
7,095
Non-urban
47.6
7.9
2.1
23.4
3.5
2.0
13.4
100
4,640
Province
Western Cape
49.8
5.3
2.0
15.0
6.5
6.5
15.0
100
1,193
Eastern Cape
44.1
7.4
2.1
26.7
5.6
1.4
12.7
100
1,566
Northern Cape
46.6
5.5
3.8
14.5
9.2
3.0
17.4
100
253
Free State
50.3
6.3
1.2
22.2
6.3
0.5
13.1
100
763
KwaZulu-Natal
48.5
3.8
1.4
22.2
5.5
1.8
16.7
100
2,364
North West
51.8
5.3
2.3
19.8
5.3
2.3
13.3
100
909
Gauteng
60.9
3.2
1.5
18.3
4.5
2.2
9.4
100
2,552
Mpumalanga
62.3
5.1
1.5
17.4
3.3
1.5
9.0
100
819
Northern Province
45.2
10.8
3.0
21.8
2.1
2.5
14.5
100
1,316
Education
No education
56.6
6.5
2.1
20.7
8.7
2.8
2.5
100
804
SubA-Std3
54.5
5.7
1.4
23.1
7.6
2.6
5.1
100
1,291
Std4-Std5
50.1
6.1
2.2
20.2
6.1
2.3
13.1
100
1,625
Std6-Std9
46.6
5.6
2.1
21.3
4.0
2.2
18.2
100
5,181
Std 10
57.2
4.8
1.6
19.5
3.7
2.5
10.7
100
1,922
Higher
62.9
3.5
1.5
14.8
4.6
1.8
10.9
100
912
Population group
5.8
African
Afr. urban
Afr. non-urban
Coloured
White
Asian
50.7
54.3
46.6
47.0
64.1
58.4
6.1
4.4
8.1
5.7
1.0
0.7
2.0
1.8
2.1
3.0
0.3
0.0
22.8
21.5
24.4
16.4
8.6
7.9
4.7
5.7
3.5
7.5
4.7
5.6
2.4
2.8
1.9
2.1
2.2
2.6
11.4
9.6
13.4
18.4
19.1
24.8
100
100
100
100
100
100
9,147
4,873
4,274
1,201
916
406
Total
51.7
5.5
1.9
20.5
5.0
2.3
13.2
100
11,735
Number of Sexual Partners
Table 5.8 shows that a high percentage of currently married women (95 percent) reportedly have one sexual
partner. Less than three percent of currently married women report that they have no sexual partner.
Less than two percent of currently married women report having two or more sexual partners. Sexual
partnership among currently married women with two or more people is highest (5 percent) among teenage
84
women aged 15-19 years. Surprisingly, currently non-married women in the same age group have a much
lower percentage (3 percent).
More than half (56 percent) of never married currently non-married women reported that they have one
sexual partner. Only thirty eight percent of these women reported having no sexual partner. More than three
percent reported two or more sexual partners. More than seventy percent of currently non-married women
in the 20-24 (71 percent) and 25-29 (74 percent) age groups have one sexual partner. More than a third (35
percent) of currently non-married teenagers aged 15-19 years have a sexual partner.
The highest percentage of sexual partnership with two or more people (7 percent) was reported among
currently non-married women aged between 30-34 years. Among currently married women, sexual
partnership with two or three men decreases as the woman stays longer in her marriage. Place of residence
did not make any major difference in the number of sexual partners a woman has whether she is currently
married or not. At any level of education, most women have one sexual partner. But the highest percentage
of currently married women without a sexual partner (5 percent) was found among women with no
education.
The highest percentage of women with no sexual partners (81 percent) was found among non-currently
married Asian women. This is closely followed by white women (73 percent). Only about a third of African
women reported that they have no sexual partners. More than half of coloured women (57 percent) reported
having no sexual partner. More African women reported sexual partnership with two or more people than
other ethnic groups. Place of residence did not make a major difference.
5.9
Relationship with Last Sexual Partner
Table 5.9 shows that the person with whom most women had their last sexual intercourse was either their
husbands (44 percent) or a regular partner (38 percent). Sex with a casual acquaintance during their last sex
occurred among 5 percent of the women. Most currently married women (80 percent) had their last sexual
encounter with their husbands and intercourse with a casual acquaintance is quite low among them.
Currently married women aged between 35-39 years tend to have their last sexual intercourse with their
husbands compared to other categories.
More than half (68 percent) of non-currently married women, had their last sexual intercourse with a regular
partner. Non-currently married women have a higher level of sexual intercourse with a casual acquaintance
more than currently married women. As many as one in every 10 non-currently married women had their
last sexual intercourse with a casual acquaintance.
85
5.10
Condom Use
Women were asked whether a condom was used during their last sexual intercourse. This question was asked
as proxy for the use of condom for disease prevention purposes. As shown in Table 5.10, among women who
had sex with their spouses, only 6 percent report condom use during their last sexual intercourse. A higher
figure of 16 percent was observed among women who had their last sex with unmarried partners. Only 8
percent of women who had last sex with casual partners reported condom use.
Irrespective of partner, condom use decreases with age. As such, teenage women report higher condom use
during their last sexual intercourse than others. Condom use is also consistently higher in the urban areas (10
percent) than the non-urban areas (5 percent) regardless of the type of partner. Women in the Free State
province report higher use of condoms during their last sex than other women irrespective of the type of
partner. As many as 27 percent of the women in the Free State province who had their last sex with an
unmarried partner report condom use. This figure is about 12 percent for those women who had their last sex
with a spouse and 11 percent for those who had their last sex with a casual acquaintance. Women in the
Western Cape province report the least use of condom during their last sex with their spouses (2 percent).
Those in the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal report the least use (less than 12 percent)
during their last sex with unmarried partners. Similarly, women in these three provinces and Northern
Province, report the least use of condom during their last sex with a casual acquaintance.
For all three types of sexual partners, the likelihood of condom use during the last sexual intercourse is
positively associated with an increase in the level of education. African women are more likely to report
condom use during their last sex with their spouses (7 percent) or casual partners (9 percent) than others while
white women report the highest use of condom during last sex with unmarried partners (31 percent). Urban
African women report higher condom use during their last sexual intercourse than non-urban African women.
88
Table 5.10 Use of Condom
Percentage of respondents who used condom during their last sexual intercourse by type of partner
according to background characteristics, South Africa 1998.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Last sex Number
Last sex Number
Last sex
Number
with
with
with
spouse
unmarried
casual
Partner
acquaintance
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Age
15-19
18.6
28
21.2
827
19.5
854
20-24
9.3
274
18.7
1,354
14.4
1,628
25-29
8.8
660
14.6
937
7.6
1,597
30-34
6.5
805
17.1
627
6.6
1,433
35-39
6.9
910
9.0
481
2.6
1,391
40-44
4.3
678
10.7
339
3.5
1,018
45-49
2.6
511
14.0
185
3.0
696
Current marital status
Currently in union
6.4
3,866
8.1
849
0.0
4,716
Formerly in union
0
12.9
584
12.9
584
Had sex
0
19.1
3,317
19.1
3,317
Residence
Urban
6.5
2,394
20.3
2,813
10.0
5,207
Non-urban
6.1
1,472
10.6
1,938
5.5
3,410
Province
Western Cape
1.8
425
17.9
395
8.1
820
Eastern Cape
5.1
492
11.4
639
6.1
1,131
Northern Cape
4.1
77
10.8
76
5.0
153
Free State
11.8
290
26.9
238
10.9
528
KwaZulu-Natal
5.5
607
11.6
1,061
6.7
1,667
North West
9.0
277
16.9
391
9.0
668
Gauteng
6.3
950
22.1
1,077
10.4
2,028
Mpumalanga
9.5
272
16.8
397
9.5
670
Northern
6.8
475
14.3
477
6.4
952
Education
No education
2.2
305
3.6
288
0.9
593
Sub A - Std 3
3.3
498
5.3
486
2.3
984
Std 4 - Std 5
5.6
586
11.9
571
5.1
1,157
Std 6 - Std 9
6.9
1,439
17.3
2,188
9.3
3,627
Std 10
9.0
642
20.2
884
11.3
1,526
Higher
8.5
396
35.1
333
15.5
729
Population group
African
7.5
2,623
16.2
4,230
9.2
6,853
Afr. Urban
8.2
1,321
20.5
2,398
12.2
3,718
Afr. Non-urban
6.8
1,302
10.5
1,832
5.6
3,134
Coloured
2.9
434
14.6
343
5.6
777
White
4.7
551
30.7
122
4.3
673
Asian
5.1
232
14.2
33
1.8
266
Total
6.4
3,866
16.4
4,750
8.2
8,617
5.11 Treatment of Women
Economic abuse
It is normally expected that men who have some resources should contribute towards basic support of their
spouse and/or children, including food, rent and payment of bills, before spending money on other items. A
89
failure to do so has been termed ‘economic’ abuse. It results in proportionately greater poverty being
experienced by women and children than would be anticipated from total household income.
In the SADHS, a question was asked about whether in the past year the woman’s partner had regularly not
provided money for food, rent or bills whilst having money for other things. The results are presented in Table
5.11. One in five currently married women reported such abuse. The pattern shows very little variation across
the age-groups. It was more common in non-urban areas, among women residing in the Free State and
KwaZulu-Natal, and much less common in the Western Cape and North West provinces. There was less
economic abuse amongst more educated women and there were large ethnic differences. White women were
six times less likely to report it than African women.
Physical violence against women
Women were asked if they had experienced physical violence in the year prior to the interview. The findings
are presented in Table 5.11. In total one in ten women had been assaulted in the year prior to the study: six
percent by current or ex- partner and four percent by someone who was not a partner. Assault by a partner was
most common amongst younger women, especially those aged under 24 years and lowest in women over 40.
It was more common in those living in urban areas and lowest in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North
West and Northern Province. It was more common among those who had attended school, but not completed
Standard 10 and among coloured women and African women living in urban areas.
Most women reported more than a single episode of assault during the past year. The median was 2, range 1-94
and interquartile range 1-6. Twenty-eight percent of women abused by a current or ex-partner needed medical
attention. Older women were very much more likely to need it than those in the youngest age group. It was
most likely amongst women in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape
and much less likely in the Free State and Northern Cape. Having education beyond matric and being white
were also protective.
The need for medical attention is an indicator of the severity of abuse, the proportion reporting this was very
high. Whilst this obviously shows that many men are very brutal when they assault their partners, it may also
point towards substantial under-reporting of less severe forms of assault e.g. slapping. It is notable that the
incidence of abuse was quite low among women in the 45-49 age group, Asian women and those living in
KwaZulu-Natal and yet reports of needing medical attention were particularly high in these groups. This may
well suggest that less severe forms of assault are particularly under-reported in these groups. The high level
of injury resulting from abuse is a pointer towards the considerable economic, social and health service costs
which are associated with domestic violence. The substantial proportion of abused women who use health
services also points towards a role for health providers in identifying women and referring them to places of
shelter and other services.
Alcohol and drug use were more likely to be associated with the abuse of women who were older (over 35
years), living in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape, less educated and who were coloured or Asian. The
findings suggest that it was very common for assailants to be drunk or on drugs but this was by no means the
rule.
In assaults by a non-partner, the perpetrator was a male relative in thirty per cent of cases (most commonly a
cousin or uncle), a female relative in eleven per cent of cases (most commonly the mother), an unknown
90
assailant in seventeen percent of cases and in forty two per cent it was a range of other people, mostly
neighbours or people known in the community or at school. It was most often reported amongst teenagers. It
was more common in non-urban areas and amongst women living in the Northern Cape, Western Cape,
Northern and Mpumalanga provinces. It was also most common among women with Standard 4-9 schooling
and least often reported among women with no schooling. Coloured, white and (urban) African reported it
more frequently. Only 31 respondents (0.3 percent of women interviewed) reported physical violence by both
a partner and a non-partner in the previous year.
Assault by a non-partner had mostly occurred on one occasion. The median number of episodes was 1, the
interquartile range was 1-2, but the range was 1-94. Assault by a non-partner was much less likely to result
in injuries which required medical attention, although the proportion (eighteen percent) who reported this is
still high. It was more common amongst older women (over 35), those living in non-urban areas, living in the
North West and Free State, those without education and African or coloured women. Alcohol and drug use
were also often reported to have been associated with episodes of assault by non-partners, but overall it was
less common than with partner assault. Assailants always using substances were more likely to be in the
Western Cape and Northern Cape, and assaulting women with no education.
These data show that adult women are more than twice as likely to be assaulted by a current or ex-partner than
they are by anyone else. Furthermore assault by an intimate partner is likely to occur more frequently and to
be more severe, as indicated by the greater likelihood of it resulting in injuries requiring medical attention.
Abusive partners are more likely to be using drugs or alcohol at the time of the assault than other assailants.
91
Table 5.11 Mistreatment of women in last 12 months
The percentage of currently married women who reported that their partner regularly does not provide economic support while having money for other things, the percentage of women who reported that they had experienced physical
abuse in the last 12 months and the percentage distribution of the reported use of drugs or alcohol by the assailant at the time of the abuse, according to partner type and background characteristics, South Africa 1998
Economic abuse
________________
Background
characteristics
Percen
tage
partner
not
providi
ng
Number
CMW
Physical assault, most often by a current or ex- partner
__________________________________________________________
Abuse
by
partner
Percentage assailants on drugs or
alcohol at time of assault
__________________________
Always
Sometimes
Never
Missing/
No answer
Percentage
abused
women
needing
medical
attention
Physical assault most often by non-partner
__________________________________________________________________
Number
ever
had sex
Percentage
abuse by
non-partner
Percentage assailants on drugs or alcohol at time
of assault
________________________________________
Always
Sometimes
Never
Missing/ No
answer
Percentage
abused
women
needing
medical
attention
Number
of women
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
22.3
22.6
19.9
18.4
19.9
18.3
18.6
73
462
895
993
1,104
856
638
7.3
7.9
6.0
7.4
6.5
4.0
3.5
23.8
30.3
38.8
37.3
47.0
60.6
43.5
16.8
23.6
29.7
29.4
33.9
16.7
34.6
58.3
43.6
31.6
33.0
18.6
21.1
19.1
1.2
2.6
0
0.2
0.5
1.6
2.9
12.0
24.7
30.2
28.9
27.8
22.6
54.7
1,017
1,856
1,801
1,636
1,624
1,290
965
8.9
3.8
3.3
1.5
1.8
1.5
2.5
12.3
20.4
36.6
30.2
30.2
29.0
25.4
26.3
19.1
17.0
17.6
7.0
8.5
15.5
54.6
49.4
35.6
46.0
39.5
32.4
41.7
6.8
11.1
10.8
6.2
23.4
30.0
17.5
8.8
17.6
20.0
23.5
30.3
33.8
29.9
2,249
2,075
1,857
1,654
1,636
1,294
970
Residence
Urban
Non-urban
17.6
22.1
2,997
2,024
7.0
5.3
40.1
34.4
25.9
28.1
33.4
35.5
0.7
2.1
26.9
26.7
6,171
4,019
3.6
3.9
22.3
18.7
17.9
24.2
45.0
51.8
14.9
5.3
15.0
18.4
7,095
4,640
Province
Western Cape
Eastern Cape
Northern Cape
Free State
Kwazulu-Natal
North West
Gauteng
Mpumalanga
Northern
13.7
18.2
18.4
25.4
25.6
15.6
17.9
19.5
18.5
539
579
118
353
945
350
1,197
307
633
8.0
5.4
7.2
7.3
5.4
4.2
7.3
7.6
5.3
53.5
31.5
61.3
51.2
32.4
38.0
39.0
36.4
19.2
16.3
46.9
19.1
23.7
23.4
35.2
21.3
18.0
44.2
30.2
21.0
17.9
23.4
41.3
23.7
39.7
43.0
36.7
0
0.7
1.7
1.8
2.9
3.1
0
2.7
0
24.9
27.1
19.1
18.9
27.2
26.8
31.2
26.4
25.2
1,014
1,367
209
662
1,969
788
2,311
745
1,125
5.0
2.7
6.9
2.5
3.6
2.9
3.2
4.6
5.0
36.6
19.4
34.8
25.6
21.2
11.8
17.4
16.0
12.3
15.6
26.6
15.3
13.3
21.1
48.0
11.6
7.5
31.4
43.3
46.1
45.6
48.4
45.4
36.3
46.4
68.6
51.0
4.5
7.9
4.3
12.6
12.3
3.9
24.6
8.0
5.2
16.6
12.3
18.2
21.4
17.1
26.0
8.7
18.3
21.1
1,193
1,566
253
763
2,364
909
2,552
819
1,316
Education
No education
Sub A-Std 3
Std 4-Std 5
Std 6-Std 9
Std 10
11+
22.7
25.5
23.8
17.1
18.7
9.2
511
734
753
1,851
741
431
4.6
6.5
7.5
7.2
5.2
2.9
59.0
43.5
52.7
34.0
23.0
35.9
26.8
27.5
22.0
28.8
28.5
9.9
14.3
25.8
24.5
36.7
47.1
51.4
0
3.2
0.8
0.6
1.4
2.7
21.9
28.2
30.3
26.8
23.1
29.1
783
1,225
1,412
4,241
1,716
812
1.4
3.0
4.3
4.6
2.6
3.3
36.4
32.1
20.3
20.7
17.6
7.6
32.9
13.5
16.9
22.9
22.2
11.9
20.1
49.4
51.8
46.5
47.5
57.8
10.6
5.0
10.9
9.9
12.7
22.8
29.3
17.1
21.4
13.6
15.1
24.2
804
1,291
1,625
5,181
1,922
912
Population group
African
Afr. urban
Afr. non-urban
Coloured
White
Asian
23.0
23.0
23.1
16.5
4.4
10.1
3,589
1,784
1,805
548
604
250
6.1
7.0
5.0
10.3
3.8
4.3
32.7
34.7
29.5
57.3
49.8
56.8
28.9
28.1
30.1
19.4
20.9
14.4
37.0
36.3
38.2
23.1
29.3
28.8
1.4
0.9
2.2
0.3
0
0
26.3
26.0
27.0
29.8
29.3
28.0
8,108
4,406
3,702
979
741
305
3.6
3.3
3.9
5.3
3.9
2.4
16.5
16.2
16.7
49.8
12.6
9.7
23.8
21.0
26.4
14.0
6.3
9.7
50.0
46.9
53.2
36.2
47.9
43.6
9.7
15.9
3.7
0
33.2
37.0
16.5
16.3
16.7
22.4
5.1
9.7
9,147
4,873
4,274
1,201
916
406
Total
19.2
5,021
6.3
38.1
26.6
34.1
1.1
28.0
10,190
3.7
20.8
20.5
47.8
10.8
26.9
11,735
92
Lifetime experience of domestic violence
Table 5.12 shows the proportion of women who have ever been assaulted by a current or ex-partner- overall
twelve per cent of women reported this. There was very little difference across age groups. Urban women
were more likely to report abuse, as were women living in Gauteng, the Western Cape and Mpumalanga,
those with some schooling but not post-school education, and coloured and white women.
Women who reported having ever been assaulted by a current or ex- partner were asked whether this had
occurred during pregnancy. Four percent reported that it had. This was more common amongst women in
urban areas, living in the Western Cape and Gauteng, and coloured and white women.
Ninety four percent of women who were in an abusive relationship, reported that they had ever ended a
relationship because of physical abuse. Background characteristics made very little difference to the
proportion reporting this, although there were some interprovincial differences. It was less likely in the
Northern Cape, North West and Eastern Cape and more likely in the Northern Province. The number of
women who reported having left abusive partners was quite high. There are some possible reasons for this.
The question did not distinguish between women leaving forever and leaving and returning. The latter is
very commonly reported in abusive relationships. Another possibility is that the women who disclosed abuse
to the interviewers experienced more severe abuse and so were more likely to take action about this than
women experiencing lesser degrees.
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse was explored through questions which asked about whether women had ever been ‘forced to
have sex against their will’ or ‘persuaded to have sex when they did not want to’. This second question was
included as research indicates that sexual coercion is perceived to lie on a continuum of degrees of force
used ranging from persuasion (which may include blackmail or threats) to physical forcing (Jewkes and
Abrahams, In press). The word ‘rape’ was not used in the questionnaire because it is usually reserved only
to refer to the actions of strangers or gangs (Wood et al., 1998). Table 5.12 shows that four percent of all
women had been forced and seven percent of women who had ever had sex had been either forced or
persuaded to have sex at some time when they didn’t want to. Having been forced to have sex was most
commonly reported by women under 35 years, in urban areas, in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Western
Cape provinces and with higher education. It was much more commonly reported by white and coloured
women than those of other population groups.
Table 5.12 shows the proportion of women who were forced to have sex who sought help from the police.
Fifteen percent reported the rape to the police. Older women and urban women were less likely to report
than younger women and those in non-urban areas, but there was not great variation with age and area of
residence. Women in Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and Gauteng were more likely to report. There were very
marked educational differences, having no education appears to be a major barrier to contacting the police
after rape and women with post-school education were eight times more likely to report rape than
uneducated women. White women were most likely to report rape and Asian women were nearly half as
likely. These data suggest that certain groups in the population have considerably less access to police
services after rape. The reasons for this very substantial inequity need further investigation and strategies
need to be developed to improve access for all women.
93
Measuring violence against women
The inclusion of questions on the treatment of women represents a first attempt to get national indicators
of the prevalence of abuse. The data are likely to under-represent the true magnitude of violence against
women as under-reporting is a common problem in surveys. The main reasons for this are that women are
afraid of recriminations, feel ashamed, see it as a private matter, do not wish to speak badly about their
husband or do not see themselves as abused because they have been raised to believe men will discipline
women (Heise et al., 1994). Dedicated studies of violence against women normally find a higher prevalence
of abuse when compared with surveys such as the SADHS, the difference is attributed to field work factors
(Ellsberg et al., 2001).
In order to gain an insight into possible under-reporting a study was conducted which would provide
external validation of the SADHS findings in three provinces, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Northern
Province (Jewkes et al., In press). This validation study closely followed the SADHS methods, with
interviews conducted in 1 in 6 EAs in the Eastern Cape and 1 in 2 in the Northern Province and
Mpumalanga. There were some differences in the sampling strategy which mean that one would expect the
findings of the two studies to be broadly similar but there could be minor differences. The validation study
found substantial under-reporting in two of the three provinces. In the Eastern Cape the proportion of
women physically abused by a partner in the previous year was twice that found here (10.9 percent vs 5.4
percent); in Mpumlanga it was one third higher (11.9 percent vs 7.6 percent), whilst in the Northern
Province it was slightly lower (5.3 percent vs 4.5 percent). The proportion of women reporting having ever
been assaulted by a partner was much higher in the validation study. In the Eastern Cape it was 26.8 percent
compared with 8.7 percent in the SADHS; in Mpumalanga it was 28.4 percent compared with 15.2 percent
in SADHS; and in the Northern Province it was 19.1 percent compared with 8.8 percent in SADHS.
94
Table 5.12 Mistreatment of women
Percentage of women who reported ever experiencing various types of mistreatment according to background characteristics, South Africa 1998
Abuse by sexual partner
Abuse in pregnancies
Background
characteristics
Percentage
Rape
Ever abused by
partner
Ever abused and
left due to abuse
Ever forced or
persuaded to have
sex against will
No. Ever had
sex
Ever forced to
have sex (rape)
Ever forced and
sought help from
the police
All women
Number ever
pregnant
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
4.7
4.3
4.2
3.5
3.5
2.2
4.3
308
1,246
1,542
1,564
1,576
1,250
932
11.9
14.2
12.0
14.9
12.8
10.3
9.7
91.2
96.7
87.3
94.9
94.1
99.4
96.7
9.7
8.1
7.4
7.9
5.4
5.3
5.1
1,017
1,856
1,801
1,636
1,624
1,290
965
4.9
4.9
5.1
5.3
3.6
2.8
3.2
13.2
18.8
17.2
12.4
16.4
15.2
9.6
2,249
2,075
1,857
1,654
1,636
1,294
970
Residence
Urban
Non-urban
4.5
2.4
4,972
3,445
14.8
9.2
93.6
95.7
8.1
5.3
6,171
4,019
5.0
3.6
14.5
16.8
7,095
4,640
Province
Western Cape
Eastern Cape
Northern Cape
Free State
Kwazulu Natal
North West
Gauteng
Mpumalanga
Northern
7.5
2.9
3.1
2.5
3.0
1.5
5.2
2.4
2.5
816
1,071
190
550
1,708
653
1,899
592
939
16.9
8.7
13.2
12.4
10.3
6.8
17.8
15.2
8.8
95.4
90.4
82.3
96.8
94.9
87.7
94.4
94.8
100.0
12.4
4.4
4.7
4.1
6.4
2.9
9.6
10.5
3.9
1,014
1,367
209
662
1,969
788
2,311
745
1,125
6.5
2.9
3.8
2.6
3.3
2.3
6.5
7.1
3.3
13.3
14.3
17.2
12.1
12.5
13.7
15.7
25.2
10.9
1,193
1,566
253
763
2,364
909
2,552
819
1,316
Education
No education
Sub A-Std 3
Std 4-Std 5
Std 6-Std 9
Std 10
11+
2.5
3.3
3.7
4.2
3.7
2.5
755
1,136
1,241
3,374
1,294
617
9.4
13.5
15.2
12.9
11.9
9.5
98.5
96.7
94.6
93.1
92.4
95.8
3.7
6.1
6.8
7.5
7.0
9.6
783
1,225
1,412
4,241
1,716
812
2.6
3.8
4.0
4.9
4.1
5.5
3.1
11.5
15.5
15.5
14.4
23.3
804
1,291
1,625
5,181
1,922
912
Population group
African
Afr.urban
Afr non-urban
Coloured
White
Asian
2.8
3.5
2.0
8.2
6.4
3.5
6,599
3,480
3,119
870
626
274
11.4
13.9
8.3
19.7
15.8
12.6
93.5
92.6
95.6
92.8
97.8
100.0
6.0
6.9
4.9
12.0
13.0
3.7
8,108
4,406
3,702
979
741
305
3.8
4.4
3.2
6.5
8.7
2.3
14.4
14.5
14.3
15.5
18.9
10.1
9,147
4,873
4,274
1,201
916
406
Total
3.7
8,417
12.5
94.1
7.0
10,190
4.4
15.2
11,735
95
Use of and need for services
Table 5.13 shows the proportion of women who had been physically abused in the past year or raped who
used or would have liked to have been able to use various services. Only thirty percent of raped women had
used any service, half of these women had been to the police. Only six percent of raped women had been
to a health facility and very few had used other services. Forty three percent identified services which they
would have liked to have had help from. Counselling, the police and social workers were the most
commonly identified services. Twenty six percent of physically abused women had used any service, just
under half of these had been to the police and small numbers had sought help from other sources. Thirty
eight percent of women identified services which they would have liked to have had help from after
physical abuse. Most commonly these were social workers, counsellors or the police. None of the physically
abused women used a shelter, but five percent indicated that they would have liked to have been able to do
so. Some women indicated that they had tried to access the police and found them unhelpful and thus
expressed persisting unmet need for help from the police. This pattern of reporting was not found with
other services.
Table 5.13 also shows the proportion of women reporting physical abuse by a current or ex-partner in the
previous year who used or wanted services by province, and by type of service. For most provinces the
proportion using any service was between twenty and twenty-six percent. The proportion of women in the
Northern Province seeking help was twice this (forty nine percent). Much of this difference was due to a
large number of ‘other’ sources of help being recorded. These included religious figures, indunas or
headmen and family members. The proportion seeking help in the Northern Cape was only fourteen percent.
There was much greater variability in the proportion reporting unmet need, this ranged from sixty-two per
cent of women in KwaZulu-Natal to three percent in the Northern Cape. The large differences are likely to
be influenced by the severity of the abuse reported, the extent to which it is regarded as ‘normal’ or
something women must endure, the availability of services, reputation of services and perceived risks
associated with help seeking. The large inter-provincial differences in services which are normally provided
by the NGO sector, i.e. counselling, shelters and women’s centres, may reflect the uneven distribution of
these services in the country. The provinces with the greatest need for shelters, counselling and women’s
centres, were Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. These are also the ones where there is greater
provision, although very few women interviewed used these services.
96
Table 5.13 Service use and needs for abused women
Percentage of women reporting having used various types of services or wanting services which were not available according to type of abuse and province, South Africa 1998.
Proportion of abused women using or wanting help from services by type of service
Any service
Shelter
Used
Needed
Couns elling
W ome n’s ce ntre
Social worker
Police
Used
Used
Used
Used
Needed
Needed
Needed
Needed
Clinic/hospital
Other
Used
Used
Needed
Needed
Used
Needed
Total
Type of abuse
Rape
Physical by partner in last yr
0.2
1.9
3.9
14.5
1.0
4.2
3.6
11.9
15.2
12.6
6.0
6.7
6.4
6.0
29.7
43.1
520
-
4.6
3.4
8.9
0.7
5.4
3.8
13.1
12.1
8.9
4.1
4.2
7.1
5.2
26.3
38.2
652
Proportion of women abused by a current or ex-partner in last year who used or needed help by services type and province
Province
Western Cape
-
9.8
6.5
24.0
-
9.5
6.5
12.6
17.4
4.9
1.4
2.8
4.7
-
27.0
49.5
81
Eastern Cape
-
-
2.3
4.4
0.9
3.8
4.7
6.0
9.8
10.2
6.0
7.5
1.6
1.9
24.2
31.6
74
1.5
2.9
-
4.6
-
13.5
2.9
16
13.5
1.6
8.5
6.7
8.5
21.3
40.3
49
5.7
9.1
10.5
22.9
62.0
107
-
14.5
-
26.0
11.8
34
8.3
25.5
40.7
173
3.5
20.3
21.9
56
49.0
20.5
61
Northern Cape
-
-
-
-
-
1.5
1.5
1.5
4.5
Free State
-
-
1.6
8.2
-
8.1
4.8
19.6
9.7
KwaZulu-Natal
-
8.4
0.9
13.6
-
11.6
5.4
28.9
8.1
10.3
6.6
North West
-
-
-
3.0
-
-
2.7
2.7
8.8
6.0
3.0
Gauteng
-
6.9
6.2
7.6
1.4
4.1
2.8
9.7
13.8
11.0
2.8
2.8
4.1
Mpumalanga
-
2.7
2.7
4.6
2.7
-
1.5
9.2
13.0
7.3
4.6
6.1
2.3
Northern
-
-
1.9
-
-
1.8
11.3
1.8
97
15.0
5.6
7.5
1.8
22.7
1.9
Childhood sexual abuse
The sexual abuse of children is a subject of growing concern amongst the general community. In order to
investigate the prevalence of child rape and sexual abuse, women were asked questions about experiences
of having been ‘touched against your will in a sexual way’ (discussed here as ‘fondling’) and ‘forced to
touch a man’s private parts against your will’, in addition to the questions about ‘forced’ sexual intercourse
or being ‘persuaded’ when you didn’t want to (both constitute statutory rape) if the girl/woman is under the
age of 16 years). Respondents answering in the affirmative were asked the age at which the act first
happened and who did it. Women who said they had been raped were not asked the other sexual abuse
questions. The data are indicative of minimum levels of child abuse as other forms of sexual abuse, notably
flashing or exposing children to pornography, physical abuse and sexual abuse of boy children are not
included.
Figure 5.1 shows that there has been a steady increase in the proportion of women reporting having been
raped before the age of 15 and women who were 15-19 years at the time of interview were almost twice as
likely to report having been raped than those aged 20-24 years. One possible explanation for this is recall
bias, but it is unlikely that this is present to a substantial degree as similar trends are not seen in the
proportion of women reporting having been touched or made to touch a man. Table 5.14 shows the ages at
which sexual abuse occurred and the identity of the perpetrator. The vast majority of child rape was
perpetrated by men who were in positions of trust with respect to the child: school teachers, family
members, family friends and lodgers. Teachers formed the single largest group of child rapists. Men who
were not particularly in positions of trust, for example men or boys known from the neighbourhood, school
or church, or strangers were much more likely to fondle girls than rape them. Twenty-one women reported
having been raped by gangs of between three and ten men.
98
Table 5.14 Sexual abuse
Percentage distribution of age when first sexually abused and percentage distribution
of the identity of perpetrator for rape, fondling and being forced to touch a man,
South Africa 1998
Rape
Age
0-4 years
5-9 years
10-14
Identity of man
Father
Brother
Other relative
Family friend/lodger
School teacher
Stranger/recent acquaintance
Stepfather/mother’s boyfriend
Boyfriend
Man/boy from neighbourhood/
church/school
Landlord/farmer
Other
Fondling
Made to
touch him
*
14.6
85.4
1.0
18.5
80.5
*
24.4
75.6
5.1
4.8
11.3
11.1
32.8
20.2
3.6
8.3
2.3
3.7
18.7
9.1
2.5
18.3
0.8
7.6
4.8
4.0
20.0
13.0
3.4
10.3
0.8
9.3
0.8
0.7
1.4
36.3
*
0.6
33.4
*
1.1
Note: An asterisk indicates that a figure is based on fewer than 25 unweighted cases
and has been suppressed.
Table 5.15
Table 5.15 shows that all forms of child
abuse were more commonly reported by
women in urban areas and in the provinces
of Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Eastern
Cape. The highest level of rape reported was
among white and coloured women and the
highest level of unwanted fondling was also
amongst white women. It is very difficult to
know whether these racial differences are
real or result from different thresholds of
reporting in the different groups.
The findings suggest that there may have
been an increase in the prevalence of child
rape, with the problem particularly
occurring in urban areas. Research on
adolescent sexuality has shown that forced
sexual initiation is very common (e.g Buga
1996 found 28 percent of initiation to be
‘forced’), the information on perpetrators
indicates that the reports in this study were
rarely of the actions of boyfriends. It is
likely, therefore, that there has been
substantial under-reporting of forcing by
boyfriends.
Child sexual abuse
Proportion of women reporting child sexual abuse by selected background characteristics, South Africa 1998
Background characteristics
Raped
Made to touch
him
Fondled
Number of
women
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
2.9
1.3
1.5
1.1
0.9
0.8
0.6
3.1
3.0
4.9
4.0
3.0
2.1
3.1
0.6
1.6
1.4
1.0
0.7
0.4
0.6
2,249
2,075
1,857
1,654
1,636
1,294
970
Residence
Urban
Non-urban
1.7
1.0
3.7
3.0
1.1
0.7
7,095
4,640
Province
Western Cape
Eastern Cape
Northern Cape
Free State
Kwazulu-Natal
North West
Gauteng
Mpumalanga
Northern
2.3
0.8
0.8
0.3
1.2
0.3
2.5
2.6
0.7
3.2
1.4
2.2
3.3
3.1
1.7
5.5
5.2
2.6
1.1
0.6
0.4
1.3
0.6
0.8
1.5
1.5
0.7
1,193
1,566
253
763
2,364
909
2,552
819
1,316
Education
No education
Sub A-Std 3
Std 4-Std 5
Std 6-Std 9
Std 10
Higher
1.0
1.2
1.6
1.6
1.3
1.5
2.8
2.8
2.6
3.0
3.9
6.9
0.4
1.1
0.9
0.8
1.1
1.9
804
1,291
1,625
5,181
1,922
912
Population group
African
Afr. urban
Afr. non-urban
Coloured
White
Asian
1.2
1.4
0.9
2.2
3.6
0.7
2.8
2.9
2.6
2.9
10.1
4.2
0.8
1.0
0.6
1.1
2.8
0.9
9,147
4,873
4,274
1,201
916
406
Total
1.4
3.4
1.0
11,735
99
100